American Football League (1940)

Encouraged by the success of the New York and Columbus franchises, Detroit, Baltimore, and Philadelphia apply to join the league for the 1941 season. While the Detroit application was accepted for play in 1942, the latter two are turned down by a league that is not interested in further expansion. [Bob Carroll, Michael Gershman, David Neft, and John Thorn, "Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League" (HarperCollins 1999) ISBN 0-060-39232-0 ]

Promoter Douglas Grant Hertz purchases the New York Yankees, changes their name to the New York Americans, and then announces (in August) the team's withdrawal from the league. [ [http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:GDu92YGWDQoJ:www.footballresearch.com/articles/frpage.cfm%3Ftopic%3Dnfl-comp+%22American+Football+League%22+%22World+War%22+%22Columbus+Bullies%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=12&gl=us NFL Competitors: 1926-1975] ] The league refuses to acknowledge the "withdrawal." Boston folds before the start of the 1941 season. Buffalo changes the team name upon new ownership assuming control of the team. New York Americans president William B. Cox becomes new AFL league president in 1941. [ [http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:GDu92YGWDQoJ:www.footballresearch.com/articles/frpage.cfm%3Ftopic%3Dnfl-comp+%22American+Football+League%22+%22World+War%22+%22Columbus+Bullies%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=12&gl=us NFL Competitors: 1926-1975] ]

1941 All-League Team

Earl Ohlgren, Milwaukee (end)
Alec Shellogg, Buffalo (tackle)
Ted Livinston, Columbus (guard)
Paul Humphrey, Milwaukee (center)
Tex Akin, Milwaukee (guard)
Bob Eckl, Milwaukee (tackle)
Joe Kruse, Cincinnati (end)
Bob Davis, Columbus (quarterback)
Charlie Armstrong, New York (halfback)
Bill McGannon, Cincinnati (halfback)
John Kimbrough, New York (fullback)

Columbus was league champion again in 1941, with a final record of 5-1-2.

Demise of the third major league AFL

Although the AFL lost the Boston Bears franchise prior to the beginning of the 1941 season, its owners were optimistic about the league's long-term future. Although the league's average attendance was less than that of the more-established NFL, the AFL seemed to be on as firm a financial footing as the older league. By the end of the 1941 season, a new franchise was awarded to Detroit for the 1942 season. The league was the first major football league to complete a double round robin schedule, in which each team played each other twice.

All the plans for 1942 came to a sudden stop upon the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II on December 7 1941. With the induction of college and professional players into the U.S. military, it became increasingly apparent to the AFL owners that the global conflict would put the continued success of the league into question. [George Gipe, "The Great American Sports Book" (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0]

On September 2 1942, AFL president William B. Cox announced the suspension of league activities until the end of the war. [David L. Porter, ed., "Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Football" (Greenwood Press 1987) ISBN 0-313-25771-X, p. 142] [George Gipe, "The Great American Sports Book" (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0] :

Unlike Douglas MacArthur, the league did not return. The NFL was without a competitor until the formation of the All America Football Conference in 1946, one year after the end of World War II. [George Gipe, "The Great American Sports Book" (Doubleday 1978) ISBN 0-385-13091-0]

References